Volunteering for the Birds

March 22, 2016

My boss forwarded me a letter from the North Carolina FWS asking for volunteers to help put up signs for nesting birds on islands in the Sounds along the Outer Banks.  This was a chance to get to go out and see Pamlico Sound and also do something to help birds.  I immediately asked her to keep my schedule clear for the first two days of this job and volunteered.

The black-crowned night herons were just going to bed when I arrived at the marina

Monday turned out to be too windy and rainy to go, but the weather on Tuesday was perfect. And instead of starting at 10:00 A. M. we were to start at 7:00 A.M. It took us until nearly 8:00 o'clock to get two boats loaded and in the water. Then we all went down to the furthest island north, Island I, and learned what our leader wanted us to do and how far apart to set the posts and how deep to dig them.

Annika explains where we'll be going

This is "my" boat - we loaded it with out stuff, posts, signs, nails,  and post hole diggers

Our Captain

The lead boat captained by leader, Annika

I ended up in the smaller craft with three young guys. The two boats divided the islands up and our boat divided ourselves into two teams and worked different sides of the islands until we met up again.  My jobs consisted of nailing the signs on the posts while we were underway and carrying up to four posts plus a bag of signs, nails, and a hammer to just put the signs back on still-standing posts.  My partner carried both posts and a post hole digger and dug all the holes.  I helped fill the holes in using one of the posts as a tamper.

First stop to learn our jobs

The signs on their posts, ready to "plant"

The two boats each did four more islands.  We managed to get two days of planned work done in one day and left the state caught back up and ready to go down to Hatteras the following day.

Eli demonstrates his post hole digging prowess

We disturbed several Canada geese who were laying eggs - most had 4-6 eggs

The temperatures were just at the point where I needed my long johns under my nylon pants.  But by the time we had finished the second island I was burning up and stopped behind a bush and took them off.  I already had my jacket off and tied around my waist so draped them over my shoulders.  Then, I attempted to get to the boat through a patch of briars.  I had to turn around, to back  to the top of the island and take a different route to shore.  I got in the boat and realized I not longer had my long johns. Gallant Earl went back and tackled the really sharp briars and made them release my long johns.

My long john rescuer

Eli and I getting signs nailed to the posts during the rides between islands

We enjoyed a group of great egrets - this was the best of my captures

This little boat looked pretty settled in

I got to see Bodie Lighthouse from the water

We met back up with the other group for lunch

We were pretty hungry after four hours of work

We had a nice little sand bench to sit on

And were blessed by a bald eagle flyover

Earl volunteered to take our pictures when we were almost finished with this island

Earl and his (found) redhead

Michel is holding the front down to keep the motor high as Eli pushes us out

We had a wonderful time on the water and saw huge flocks of brown pelicans,  gulls, and cormorants. We also found several Canada geese nests with four to six eggs in them.  We watched an osprey carry a stick, and saw a pair of oystercatchers, and a large mixed flock of ruddy turnstones and sandpipers. We came back very close to the great horned owl that has been sitting on her eggs for about a month.  She is nesting on the channel marker right at the dock.

There were several hundred brown pelicans here

There were about 20 ruddy turnstones in this group

Sometimes the ski filled with pelicans

As we were leaving the last island, this juvenile kept flying with us and then landing near us - I think he has learned to beg from fishermen 

We all had a marvelous time except right at the end, when the larger boat found it had no power.  One of my teammates and I moved to it to let another volunteer couple go home.  Then my partner and the leader, both called their respective maintenance people and found and fixed the problem, a loose wire, allowing us all to get back to the dock before 5 o'clock.

Almost finished

The entire day felt like a playday, even though I walked at least one mile in shin deep water and walked a total of 7.5 miles. I felt good about keeping up with three guys, whose total age was almost the same as mine.  And glad to know that the birds using these islands for breeding would be undisturbed.

Winter Storms Benefit Gulls

I went down to Pea Island a few days after a big winter storm with high winds. We still had high winds and also had high tides, so the combination led to some coastal flooding, with sand and water on parts of  Hwy 12.

I was surprised to see a cloud of gulls flying across from the Visitor Center since we usually just see single fly bys.  I climbed over the little ridge of sand scraped to the side of the road, then walked through wet sand still on the road, and over a higher ridge of sand on the other side. Then I climbed through a valley in the dunes to see  birds both on the shore and flying in big groups over the area where the waves broke. 

When I reached the top of the dunes, I could see almost no beach.  Rather the high waves broke almost at the dunes.  And I saw a little basin, near the top of the dunes, that had clearly been formed by recent wave action as the waves had pushed water around the end of one of the dunes, scouring out the basin in the process.  And on what beach there was, there seemed to be an entire reef of oysters torn loose by the big surf, then pushed on-shore. 

A gull flies across the breaking waves

The view just in front of the dunes- that's the base of a dune in the foreground- lesser black-backed herring, and ring-billed gulls

Lots of oyster shells and probably some other shell species as well

It seemed to be mostly Bonaparte's gulls that were hunting over the wayes

A wider view of the action

These guys could fly in very close formations

Herring gull with crab - wish I could hire him to get some for me

When I started home, I saw a gull in the middle of the highway with an oyster he had dropped to open it.

Across the road, it looked like business as usual, except the birds were staying out of the wind.

There were very few birds in view across from the visitor center, but I stopped at the blind, which is protected by dunes,  and found lots of gadwalls, a few swans, avocets, green-winged teal, double crested cormorants and greater yellowlegs.  On the way by going south, I'd also seen western sandpipers, white pelicans, and snow geese taking advantage of the lower winds where the pond is narrower and there are more islands and dunes.

Yellowlegs and gadwall were close enough to photograph from the bird blind

On the hunt

Avocets were scattered around in small groups, also feeding

When this comes out, I expect to be playing, paddling, and birding with my South Carolina friend, Laurel.  Looking forward to all of that.

Many of these birds will soon begin their flight to their summer homes. Hope you help keep track of migration by turning in your bird counts on a regular basis to eBird.


I'm linking to Wild Bird Wednesday. For more great bird blogs, click the picture.

Along the Sunset Trail

Tuesday, Jan 11, 2016

As the day moved towards evening, more and more clouds were reporting for sunset duty.  Previously, on a hike in Nags Head Woods, a little parcel of land owned by the Nature Conservancy, I had found a path that terminated in the bay and thought it might be a good place to observe sunset. So I took another little hike down to check it out.

Just before I arrived at the parking lot,  I saw the sun go behind a huge cloud bank.  I thought that sunset would be a bust, but, since I've experienced this before and had the day go cloudy, then come back to sunny, I went ahead and began my hike.

  I enjoyed the peaceful solitude, unbroken by a even a bird call or the scold of a squirrel.  I took pictures of glowing leaves, the last leaf on a young oak tree, and the view of the trail in front of me as it wound through mostly pine trees interspersed with a few oaks and sweetgums. When I got to the first open place,  with a view of  the sound, I got a few pre-sunset pictures and thought that was the best I would get. Just past that spot, I stopped to admire a huge tree that appears to be dead or mostly dead. Then I noticed that the light was getting brighter. When I reached the end of the trail, I found the solid cloud was breaking up into thousands of fluffy clouds, leaving spaces for the sun to play hide and seek.

This now rare glow caught my eye

The trail is made even quieter by the pine needles which muffled my footsteps

I thought this pre sunset would be all there was to see

And old tree cycling its nutrients for new growth

Sun behind clouds but clouds are breaking up

I watched earth, air and water produce beautiful bubble art along the shore

The last bit of the sun disappearing behind the horizon 

Then lighting up the fluffy clouds that formed into a huge set of rays by themselves. 

Then being chased off by the darkness

I hiked quickly back to the road to beat full dark.  But when I noticed the sky showing near where an accessible trail went, I decided to take a quick look.  By this time, the sky was so dark, that I could only get the next images with my camera set to take hand held night scenes.

Going......

Afterlight reflections in a pond

Looking up from the parking lot

I started home, feeling happy that I had had an entire day filled with beauty. (I had explored Manteo that morning.)  Then, just as I made the turn to the the road my house is on, I spotted the moon rising over the beach houses.  So I grabbed my camera and got one last picture.

Hello, New Moon

And my body felt invigorated by moving for nine miles, at least eight of which I was hiking, all the while collecting beautiful memories.